G69 is G, B, D, E and A. Start with a major chord and add the and .
If you play , you already have the 9th. Adding the 6th gives you G69, with a fuller, more open sound.
For a tonic chord that feels like home, G69 is often used instead of .
Unlike , G69 leaves out the major 7th, . That can help when the melody lands on , a half step above, and you want to avoid the rub.
To hear what the adds to a home chord, start with .
One repeated root rises two frets to the 9th. The other notes stay put.
In the Getz/Gilberto recording of “The Girl from Ipanema”, the guitar uses D♭6/9 to establish home at the start of the song.
Listen for how the 6th and 9th fill out the chord while it still feels settled.
Also written G6/9, G6add9 or G six nine.
Root, 3rd and 7th. The 3rd and 7th set the quality; the 5th adds nothing, so it goes. That frees a string for a tension.
Where a tune’s home chord is written as a major seventh or sixth, G69 is often played instead. It is G major’s sixth chord with one note raised a whole step, root to ninth.
Listen for: The ii’s root holds through the V as its fifth and stays on as the ninth of the I. On the sixth chord it falls a whole step to the root.
In which keys. Every note of G69 belongs to C major, D major, E minor, G major, A minor and B minor.
Exact match — G69 and this scale share these 5 notes.
Contains G69 and adds fourth and major seventh.
Contains G69 and adds sharp eleventh and major seventh.
Adds fourth and flat seventh. The flat seventh pushes the sound toward a dominant chord.
Adds sharp eleventh and flat seventh, for a dominant sharp-eleventh color.
The common shapes and the derived voicings come from different places, and both are explained in how this site is built.
Shows each chord the way this style would voice it, and marks which of its alternatives belong to the idiom.